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WHAT'S HAPPENING

Q2 2016 MULTI-SCREEN REPORT RELEASED

The latest Australian Multi-Screen Report – from Regional TAM, OzTAM and Nielsen – has been released, and has found TV is still the most watched screen, with reach remaining strong across all major age groups. Each week on average 88.1% of Australians (20.67m people) watch at least some broadcast TV on in-home sets (free-to-air and/or subscription channels).The way Australians use their TV sets continues to change, however, thanks to the take-up of internet-capable TVs and/or devices attached to the TV. Penetration of internet-ready TV sets increased from 30% to 36%, enabling viewers more flexibility to view content on demand. Read the full report here.

RADIO STILL DOMINATES SHARE OF AUDIO CONSUMPTION

The first major comprehensive study of Australians’ audio consumption – the ‘Australian Share of Audio’ study – has been conducted by multinational research company GfK. Of the time spent with audio, Australians spend two hours and 12 minutes listening to live Australian radio, equivalent to a 64.9 per cent share of listening. Listening to their own music collections accounts for 13 per cent, while the combined streaming services Pandora, Spotify and Apple Music accounts for 9.2 per cent.

QANTAS LAUNCHES ‘OUT OF OFFICE TRAVELOGUE’ VIA THE MONKEYS

Recognising that millions of bland Out Of Office emails are being sent out every day to unsuspecting colleagues and friends, Qantas' new ‘Out Of Office Travelogue’ endeavours to transform the once-mundane experience into a real-time travel journal, featuring a live feed of Instagram photos from the sender’s trip. Designed to capitalise on the power of holiday-envy as a catalyst for booking travel, users can even hand-pick which photos make up their auto reply message to cause maximum heartbreak for the recipient at home.

COMMONWEALTH BANK CREATES VR STORYBOOK TO TEACH KIDS MONEY MANAGEMENT

Commonwealth Bank is launching a virtual reality storybook as part of its Start Smart children’s education campaign. Much like a technology enabled ‘choose your own adventure’ book, the story is designed to encourage children to make good decisions with money, by learning the difference between ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ and how best to spend money. It partnered with children’s author Ursula Dubosarsky to develop a physical book, which comes with a Google Cardboard VR headset kit, ‘The Teleporter’, to make the book interactive.

TV has followed hot on the heels of the Australian radio industry, announcing a new mobile app which will allow viewers to stream 15 free-to-air channels in one place. Industry body Freeview has driven the new app, called the FV mobile app, which features channels from members including Networks Seven, Nine and Ten as well as the public broadcasters ABC and SBS. Streams will be measured through OzTAM’s VPM service which was set up this year to gauge catch up and streaming audiences.

Speaking at B&T’s ‘Daze of Disruption’ recently, Carat CSO Sam Hegg explored the challenges for agencies – and everyone – in navigating the digital economy; namely, finding ways to leverage data to create more impactful campaigns, rather than becoming enslaved by it. He urged marketers to rethink their relationship with data: “The bottom line is, we can’t leverage data unless we earn a place in the conversation; that comes through understanding and empathy.”

MCCAIN USES THE POWER OF DIGITAL OUTDOOR TO MAKE EVERY DAY BEER BATTER CHIP DAY

Every day is beer batter chip day according to McCain, who has engaged APN Outdoor Elite Screens across the Eastern seaboard for their latest campaign, encouraging Aussies to make every day special with Beer Batter Chips. McCain has utilised multiple creative variations for each day of the week which are updated automatically, adding a personalised element to the message.

CLIENT NEWS

GM Holden has signed back on board for a fourth series of The X Factor (TXF). To celebrate Jason Dundas hosting TXF for the first time, Holden will be creating a series of integrated Holden Trax TVC’s with the host, allowing fans to get to know the real Jason Dundas. This is part of Holden’s broader brand strategy to challenge existing perceptions of the brand, and encourage Australians to rediscover what Holden now stands for. The campaign sits cross platform, with all assets utilising TXF IP on digital, social, the new app and in-show.